How to Celebrate Cesar Chavez Day: Boycott Driscoll’s Berries

Happy Cesar Chavez Day! I am honored to have Cesar Chavez as an official holiday of the school district I work for and of course happy to have the day off. Today I would like to honor Dolores Huerta, Cesar Chavez and the people who are responsible for growing, nurturing and picking our food. Chavez is known for his amazing union activism, most notably being the massive grape boycott that he was instrumental in organizing. What some people aren’t aware of however, is the huge Driscoll’s berry boycott that is going on right now. You know Driscoll’s berries the only ones you can find in mainstream grocery stores. The have a monopoly on the whole berry game to the point where even if you pick up some berries that don’t have their bright yellow label, if you read really closely, you might find that they are still actually Driscoll’s berries. Here is why the workers are calling for the boycott:

Pretty bad and as in most oppressive labor situations women and children are highly impacted. Here is a story of one woman featured on PopularResistance.org:

Cecilia Sanchez, 25, has two children and is pregnant with her third. When asked how far along she is, she simply tilts her head and shrugs. She doesn’t know because she hasn’t been able to see a doctor yet. She lacks the money for the bus to get to the clinic.

Sanchez’s husband works as a farmworker each day, sometimes spending more than 12 hours in the field. This month he is picking strawberries. He earns 700 pesos – about $35 – each week. Women, children and all human beings deserve more!

So today and for however long it takes until an agreement is reached, let’s stand with the women who sacrifice their bodies so that we can nourish ours and boycott Driscoll’s berries.